When he gathered his 2012 Falcons together at training camp, coach Mike Smith delivered a message that will sound familiar around East Rutherford, N.J.

“Our message was that we wanted to finish everything that we do,” Smith told The Post Friday. “Every period of practice, every day in training camp. … When we got into playing games, it was going to be about finishing drives, finishing quarters, finishing halves, finishing games, and have that mindset that we were going to finish everything we do. We wanted to be a better team than we were last year.”

I reminded Smith that “finish” was Tom Coughlin’s mantra a year ago with the Giants.

“We didn’t finish, and they did,” Smith said.

More than anything, it is Matt Ryan’s ascension toward elite-quarterback status that convinces you these 5-0 Falcons, who play host to the Raiders today, are for real.

“He’s stronger this year than any other year he’s been here,” Smith said. “When he makes it a point of emphasis, he usually accomplishes it. He’s gotten a little bit heavier. He’s slight in his build, so it’s not really noticeable. You can see it not only on his deep ball, but more importantly in his short and intermediate. It’s how quickly you can get the ball from Point A to Point B.

“I also believe Matt has shown with his increased strength better movement in the pocket. It’s not always going to be a clean pocket back there. He’s going to have to slide from one side to the other. He’s going to have to make throws sometimes when people are on him.”

Tight end Tony Gonzalez has been a godsend for Smith in the locker room and for Ryan on the field. Gonzalez, 36, will catch between 100 to 150 balls before practice, and his teammates have caught the work-ethic bug.

“[Gonzalez is] not a man of a whole lot of words,” Smith said. “He is one of the hardest-working guys you’ll see. He’s beaten Father Time, no doubt about it.”

Lethal weapon Julio Jones was inhibited by the lockout as a rookie. The Falcons loved his intangibles when they traded with the Browns to move up and draft him as Robin to Roddy White’s Batman.

“The maturation process from Year 1 to Year 2 is going to be really

quick,” Smith said, “because he now understands, ‘This is how the Atlanta Falcons do things, not how Coach [Nick] Saban did it at Alabama.’ And he’s got a great group of guys to mentor him. He’s a No. 1

receiver. We like to say we have a 1A and a 1B. It’s going to change based on how people are going to defend us.”

Tony Dungy recently said he believes running back Michael Turner needs to be more involved.

“Our goal as a football team is to score points,” Smith said. “Some games we’re going to score points throwing the ball. Some games we’re going to score points running the ball. We want to be known as a scoring team.”

Arguably the biggest concern is the run defense, particularly with Raiders gamebreaker Darren McFadden on the field today.

“It’s an area we must improve on,” Smith said. “You’ve gotta keep people out of the end zone, and that’s the No. 1 statistic you look at. The next one we look at is turnovers. We’ve taken the ball away 12 times.”

Jets fans still mourn the departure of John Abraham — who, at age 34, has three sacks.

“He’s been our best pass rusher since we’ve been here,” Smith said. “I really believe this: You win in the locker room first, and you’ve got to have guys like Tony Gonzalez and John Abraham that can be mentors to the younger players.”

The Giants finished the Falcons, 24-2, in the wild-card playoff game at MetLife Stadium last season.

“People ask, ‘Do you keep that as a chip on your shoulder?’” Smith said. “Absolutely it’s on your mind, especially during the offseason. But once the season starts, you’ve got to focus on the next game. … You can’t concern yourself with what happened last year.”

Smith won’t second-guess himself for a pair of fourth-down gambles that failed in that game, including a Ryan keeper on fourth-and-inches instead of a 38-yard field goal that could have brought the Falcons to within 10-5.

“If the calls work, they’re right. … If they don’t, they’re wrong,” Smith said. “Those decisions are not made haphazardly.”

Smith said he doesn’t allow the Falcons to believe they are the Lombardi Packers just yet.

“It hasn’t always been the way we think we’re capable of playing,” he said. “I hate to use the word ‘real,’ but you need to be transparent with your guys.”

The reality is, it is time for Smith (48-21) to win his first playoff game following three straight defeats.

“They’re focused on the task at hand,” Smith said. “You can’t be infected by success.”